Angels player tweets about the 2011 season

"Two weeks" turned into an entire terrible season, with a couple brief hot streaks mixed in. If the Angels don't make the postseason, this will forever be known as the year the Angels traded away Mike Napoli, traded for Vernon Wells, and handed the division to Texas. BY SAM MILLER, OCR

We could ask the Angels about the 2011 season, and we'd probably get a lot of predictable quotes and clichés. But what do the players themselves say about it when it's late at night, they're staring at their iPads and their guard goes down? Check out a dozen tweets by Angels players this season that, collectively, tell us everything we will remember about the 2011 season.

"Two weeks" turned into an entire terrible season, with a couple brief hot streaks mixed in. If the Angels don't make the postseason, this will forever be known as the year the Angels traded away Mike Napoli, traded for Vernon Wells, and handed the division to Texas. BY SAM MILLER, OCR
Ervin Santana threw a no-hitter! The Angels got some amazing starts from their rotation, including Jered Weaver's 15-K performance, Dan Haren's one-hit shutout in April and Haren's two-hit, no-walk shutout in July. But it's Santana's no-hitter that will be remembered by Angels fans, the first solo no-hitter by an Angel since Mike Witt in 1984. BY SAM MILLER, OCR
Boy, did the aging Hunter look like he needed some supplement. On his 36th birthday, he was hitting .239/.310/.379. After that, though, he was one of the Angels' best hitters, going .302/.384/.491 with 10 home runs. BY SAM MILLER, OCR
It was the year Mark Trumbo's power played in the majors. He hit seven homers more than 425 feet, and is challenging for the Angels' rookie home run record. That he's a local boy just makes his story more fun. BY SAM MILLER, OCR
The year Mike Trout came up! Trout's physical gifts are so amazing that he's exciting even in a slump. When he's hot, as he was shortly after this tweet (and his second call-up), he's basically the best part of baseball. BY SAM MILLER, OCR
In the first weekend of the year, the Angels lost three out of four to the Royals, with Michael Kohn, Kevin Jepsen and Jason Bulger each taking a loss. Both were soon demoted, and were the primary relievers in Salt Lake, not Anaheim, as the Angels turned to Jordan Walden, Bobby Cassevah and Rich Thompson for unexpectedly important roles. BY SAM MILLER, OCR
I will remember this season for the catches Peter Bourjos made. There are centerfielders who are great at getting on highlight reels, and centerfielders who are simply great, but Bourjos is unquestionable both. No matter the score, Bourjos' potential to do something amazing made each pitch interesting. BY SAM MILLER, OCR
It's not nearly as memorable as the time the Angels' bus careened off the New Jersey turnpike -- and thank heavens for that! -- but, yes, 2011 is the year the team plane had to make a premature landing. BY SAM MILLER, OCR
The Angels used their first pick in the 2011 draft to take college slugger C.J. Cron. He played less than half a season in the Pioneer League but still managed to end up sixth in the league in home runs, including a three-homer day on Aug. 2. BY SAM MILLER, OCR
Howie Kendrick might never be the .340-hitting batting champ we were promised, but this was the season he became a star. He was the best position player on the team and, by Wins Above Replacement, about as good as his more famous counterparts in New York (Cano) and Texas (Kinsler). BY SAM MILLER, OCR
This one has nothing to do with the Angels season, unless you think it's a metaphor. Scott Kazmir's contract is the oxygen chamber? A number five starter is the restroom? I honestly don't know. It's funny, though. BY SAM MILLER, OCR
According to the odds generated by the simulations at CoolStandings.com, the Angels were at no point this year better than 50 percent likely to make the postseason. Yet they hung around, and now have somehow insinuated themselves into the Wild Card race. There are disappointing seasons like last year, when the Angels never put up much of a fight. This year will be disappointing if they don't make it to the playoffs, but it was a noble disappointment. BY SAM MILLER, OCR

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